Keep Scrolling to Read ALL of Christmas!

Instead of doing one mondo Christmas Post, I broke it up into about 4 or 5 little ones, so keep reading (if you really care that much) for all the adventures of the Butts this Holiday Season.

So last but not least, Christmas at my parents house. More eating took place than should be humanly possible (we stayed three days and I ate key lime pie for breakfast each morning. This is a far cry from my generic Bran Flakes.)

First of all, I need to explain that each year at Christmas, my Mom puts a can of Silly String in everyone's stocking. Every year everyone sprays it all over the living room, creating a chaotic scene of nearly breaking everything breakable and me screaming and flailing because even as a child, I did not like to be messy.
This year, Mom made us take it outside, where she unexpectedly became the target of a vicious Silly String Attack.
Since there are two boys in the family now, there is really no where to run.
I would like to note that the Silly String really clung to her hair and it took a while to get out.
Sassy D! You are so cute!

Mom also got the girls matching PJ's this year which we love.
And finally, a picture of my parents by the fireplace. Again, I love close-ups, even though everyone is horrified of them:

Tricia's Side of the Family Christmas

For Christmas Day, Caleb and I made it to my parents' house in time for the big Christmas Lunch we share with Nana and Lewie, and "The Fun Hoppers" Uncle David, Aunt Tammy, Bailey, Carson and John.
Since there are more "kids" than adults this year with the addition of Caleb, the Kids ended up at the adult table and the adults were sent to the Kids Table.
Here's the Girl Cousins:
Nana and the boys: ( I love this picture. It makes me happy)
Lewie and his girls:
And Nana and Lewie together:
I'm into close-up pictures right now.

The Lake Claiming the Shoes

For Christmas Eve, Caleb's Mom and Dad loaded up the 4-wheelers and we drove about 30-minutes outside Decatur to somewhere in the middle of nowhere to ride. Having never been on a 4-wheeler before, I was a little nervous.... helmets? safety goggles? flares in case we got lost? I was definitely channeling Laurette. Anyway, Caleb and I were on one and the girls were on the other:

The place we went to was beautiful and perfect for 4-wheeling. We found this huge field that was actually a dried up lake (because of the drought going on right now). There were huge shells all over the ground and large dead fish that couldn't escape as the water dried up. I of course took a pic of one of the fish. Caleb said it is a Garp. It has teeth by the way. These dead garp were everywhere:
So we are riding all over the place. The very large lake (I'm sure it has a name, but I don't know what it is) had dried up a little bit on the outskirts so we drove on the dried up sections of the bank. We were rolling right along until we hit a section that had not dried up enough and was still pretty lake-ish. Oops. Both 4-wheelers get stuck:
Caleb, Jessica and Amanda work hard to push the first one out of the muck. As official photojournalist, I did not help and stayed on higher ground.

Then Amanda got very very stuck. Up to her knees stuck
So Jessica went out to save her sister. She gets stuck as well. As photojournalist, I am now laughing hysterically, while still staying on higher ground. Please noted how Amanda has really sunk to her knees:
Former Boy Scout Caleb knows exactly what to do. Extend a large tree branch to the QuickSand victims:
All four shoes are claimed by the lake. Jessica somehow salvaged hers from the muck:

Amanda was not so lucky. The land swallowed up her shoes as soon as her feet were free.

It took awhile to get the other 4-wheeler out but we still managed to get home and shower in time for the Christmas Eve Service at Decatur Baptist where Caleb's dad works.

We then ate a great Christmas Dinner and opened presents. I hope 4-wheeling on Christmas Eve is a new tradition!

Caleb's Family Christmas

First of all, I thought I was doing a good job taking tons of pictures of all our family members at each get-together we went to. WRONG! I totally forgot to bring the camera to Oneonta where a ton of my relatives were (and where I am now referred to as "Princess Twisha" by my 3-year old cousin, Caroline, which I eat up). I'm going to beg Amber and Ashley to e-mail me some pictures they took so I can be more Fair and Balanced with the Family Pics.

So we'll start this off with Caleb's side of the family. Here's the itenerary:
Arrive in Decatur Friday night.
Saturday, I drove to Oneonta and visited my mom's side of the the family (pictures to come) and got to eat lunch with Mary Brittain.
Sunday, we drove to Tennessee to Caleb's Mom's side of the family and had a big get-together there.
There were presents and people everywhere. We all opened our presents one at a time, and we started from youngest to oldest. I got more presents than Caleb...... hehehehehehehe.

We had a great time in Tennessee for the day. The next chapter of our Christmas Adventure is on the next post since there are a lot of pictures to add.

First Gifts of the Season.

Since I'm having a slight bout of Technical Difficulties and TONS of pictures to upload to the blog, I'm going to do short blips.... so sorry for the scrolling and the reverse chronological order:)

Caleb and I couldn't wait any longer, so we opened our Christmas presents to each other the Thursday before Christmas. We got an assortment of fancy clothes, which was great because I got to wear my new duds to school the next day! And my students were very complimentary of my new striped shirt, so good job, Caleb!


I would also like to say that I got my very first Teacher Gift this year. It is from the most precious little 9th grade girl and she gave me a small decorative glass piano. Another student told me he was going to bring me a 6-pack of Diet Cokes as a gift but he didn't follow through.

Love those Winter Weddings!

Ever since Boo Boo got married last December, I am now a firm advocate of Christmas Weddings. White lights, snow, festive merriment.... it's all there. This past weekend, Caleb's cousin Andy got married up in Kentucky. I was absolutely mesmerized with the decorations Aunt Michelle put together- it really was so incredible. It's a winter wonderland for sure....

Since we have a blogging camera now, I got plenty of great pics for whoever is still reading the blog. We'll start with the Rehearsal Dinner, which took place in their BARN. There was steak, a live band, white lights, and cheesecake... perfect!There was dancing....
(please ignore my hair)

The next day for the wedding, we got to help out a lot with the Reception such as making snow for the centerpieces, preparing food, arranging food/centerpieces, decorating everything- I thought it was so much fun. I literally think I could never tire of wedding stuff.

Me and Amanda put together most of the Vegetable and Fruit display and we are very proud of it... here's a fancy shot of our creation:


Here's an overall look at the display. Don't get over excited by our mad fruit/veggie skills. We did not make the centerpiece. We just dumped everything onto the table.
Caleb was the best looking usher (duh). Photo Op in the Chapel for a Christmas Pic. There are about 40 other versions of this pose and and scene, but I'll spare you and just put one on the blog.


And finally, a pic with the cousins and significant others. In the middle is Caleb's cousin Erica and her boyfriend Will, then the Bride and Groom. Such Fun!More to come on the blog as soon as I get Christmas pictures in!

'Tis the Season

'Tis the Season to create a Final Exam! Does everyone fully understand the task of making a Final Exam? I didn't until I sat down to get started- let me tell you, apparently, we have actually covered quite a bit in my classes over the past 9-weeks. Where did the time go? Where do I start?

Ok, also, it's embarrassing, but we still don't have our Christmas Tree up. We have actually decided to make it a "date" so that we would actually put it up. Christmas has just gotten here so fast this year. Plus, it is currently 78 degrees outside, so it doesn't really feel like Christmas.

I will say that the outside temperature or the busyness of life has not effected one of our neighbors. She (I assume it's a she) has completely decked out her side of the townhouse: she has wrapped her front door like a present and even has a reindeer's butt and back legs sticking out of her trunk so that it looks like Rudolph flew into the back of her car. I don't really know how that embodies the Christmas spirit, but alas.... we don't question the intelligence of our neighbors. Except for the guy next door who's bumper sticker says "Honk if you understand differentiated equilibrium!" (exclamation point not added by me- it's really on the bumper sticker).

Starkville has a lot of fun Christmas decorations this year. If you're going to be in the area, make sure you cruise down Louisville St. to see the randomness of one ladies house. I'll try to get a picture to post on here, but it is utter chaos in her yard/porch. I mean, I love it, but it is A LOT of decorations going on.

Ok, I have to get back to my Final Exam. Wish me luck and feel free to comment with sample Test Questions!:)